bjgreen
By Betsy J. Green
On April 3, 1916, the silent film “The Dumb Girl of Portici” was released. The title sounds insulting to modern audiences, although a century ago, “dumb” simply meant “mute” or unable to speak.
In the opera, which is the source, the mute girl dances and pantomimes, so it’s not much of a stretch to have a prima ballerina – Anna Pavlova – play this part. Pavlova plays the sister of a humble fisherman. She spends much of her time dancing on the beach, instead of doing something useful like cleaning and gutting fish.
Lois Weber directed this eight-reel movie, and some scenes were filmed at one of the million-dollar mansions in Montecito called “El Furedîs.”
Good news! This film survives and can be seen on Youtube.
Betsy’s Way Back When book — 1919 — is now available in local bookstores and at Amazon.com. This is the sixth book in her series of the history of Santa Barbara, one year at a time. Learn more at .
